The First Knox County Jail
A contract was made on Sept. 14, 1832 with John G. Sanburn to build a
log jail for $250. The jail was used for several years before he
finally received payment for it on June 7, 1838.

The log jail was two stories with no doors or windows on the first
floor. Stairs on the outside of the building led to the second story.
Prisoners were kept on the first floor and were lowered into the jail
through a trap door on the second floor. The photograph is of the jail after it was moved to a farm and modified to be used as a corn crib.

There were numerous jailbreaks and on at least one occasion, a prisoner
started a fire in an attempt to escape. By 1841, it was decided a more
secure jail was needed.

The New Jail
It took several
years to complete the new jail, which cost $7,724. Many
of the stones used were so large that they had to be transported one
per wagon. This brick and
stone jail was completed in 1845. The old log jail was sold and moved
to a farm near Knoxville where it was reportedly used as a corncrib.

The jail is a two-story building, thirty feet by sixty feet.
Six solitary confinement cells are on the first floor and two large
cells are on the second floor. The sheriff and his family had living
quarters in the front of the building.

The Hanging
The northwest corner of the jail was the scene of the only legal
hanging in Knox County. On March 14, 1873, John Marion Osborne was
hung for the August 5, 1872 murder of Adelia M. Mathews of Yates City.
Although Osborne claimed he was innocent when the guilty verdict was
read at his trial, he confessed to the murder the day before his
hanging. Several thousand people reportedly turned out to watch the
hanging and artifacts from the event are on display in the jail.

The Closing Of The Jail
The City of Knoxville used the jail for a few years after the county
seat was removed in 1873. It was then used as a private residence.
The wood addition at the north end of the building was added on at
that time, but the exact date of the addition is unknown.

The Jail Today
Visitors can see the primitive conditions in the jail. The solitary
confinement cells are dark, with no facilities or windows. Metal
rings in the floor of the largest cell on the second floor are said to
have been used to chain the insane prisoners. Holes in the floor at
the back of the cell were the only bathroom facilities.

The former sheriff's quarters in the jail are now furnished with items
from the time period. A display of railroad memorabilia is located on
the second floor near one of the large cells.